A five-room Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat in the Bidadari estate has sold for S$1.2 million.
This most recent sale in the estate in September 2024 was not the first, but is the highest so far, reported 99.co, a property website.
About the unit
The flat at Block 106A Bidadari Park Drive is part of the the project, Alkaff Vista and categorised as an "improved" flat model.
The unit is a mid-level one in the the 17-storey building.
At 1,216 sq ft, its cost comes up to S$986 per sq ft (psf).
Launched in 2010 and completed in 2019, it recently hit its minimum occupation period (MOP) after its lease commenced in 2020.
Previous transactions in other blocks
The S$1.2 million sale is the highest resale price for a flat in all of Bidadari.
Its price tag can be attributed to its location which is less than a 15-minute drive from town and with nearly 95 years left on its 99-year lease.
There were three previous transactions from the Alkaff Vista project.
A unit at Block 106B that is closer to the top floors was sold for S$1.17 million.
A unit at Block 105A situated within the first three floors was sold for S$937,500.
A unit at Block 106B between the 10 and 12 floors was sold for S$1.08 million.
According to 99.co, the build-to-order (BTO) units in Alkaff Vista were first launched with starting prices at S$433,000 for four-room units.
The capital gain amounts to more than S$760,000, an increase of 63.92 per cent, but this figure does not factor in any HDB grants or miscellaneous costs, such as agent commissions and legal fees.
Alkaff Vista is five-minute walk from Potong Pasir MRT Station, and 13-minutes walk from Woodleigh MRT.
HDB flats with very high resale prices 'a minority'
While record HDB resale prices frequently appear in headlines, units with very high resale prices make up "a very small proportion of all transactions", said Minister for National Development Desmond Lee on Aug. 20.
Such transactions make up only 0.5 per cent of all four-room or smaller flats transacted in the last two years, are very central, and are well served by transport connectivity and comprehensive amenities, he added.
Lee noted that more than half are also located on very high floors, above 30 storeys, and have good views.
However, they have caused Singaporeans to be concerned about "the affordability of resale flats as a whole":
"Flat sellers who are reading such news raise their expectations about how much the flat could bring, while flat buyers become anxious to secure flats before prices get higher.
If we are not careful, such market dynamics can cause the resale market to run out of line with economic fundamentals and cause a bubble."
Flats that cross the million-dollar mark make up about 2 per cent of all resale transactions over the last 1.5 years.
Top image from Google Street View